"Willems came to picture books from TV animation and, two decades later, still sounds grateful he made the switch. All the books in Slate's 25 Best Picture Books list, he points out, feature individual voices. "These are people writing letters to themselves that they want someone else to pay for," he said. "And the greatness of this industry is the variety of letters that can be written.""
"For this package, we've been asking authors and illustrators to discuss the decisions influencing a single page or spread from their book. When I asked Willems if there was a particular page he wanted to discuss from Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, however, he replied that what he found most exciting about picture books was not a single page but the page turn. Together, we explored the Pigeon's central freak-out, starting with the page before that freak-out occurs."
Mo Willems designs picture books to share storytelling with children by supplying about 49 percent of a story and inviting readers to supply the rest. His work, including Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, subverts conventional children's literature, entertains both children and adults, and prompts readers to reconsider what a book can be. Willems transitioned from TV animation into picture books and emphasizes distinct individual voices. He prioritizes the page turn as a key structural and comedic device, using pacing and spread design to escalate character-driven moments like the Pigeon's freak-out.
Read at Slate Magazine
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